The Idol and The Barista
by InfernoMerrick
Summary: Shirogane Naoto, barista extraordinaire, has a chance meeting with famous idol Risette. Problem is... she doesn't know who that is!
1. Chapter 1

"Isn't that that gravure idol Mizuki?"

"My god, she totally looks like her. Should I go ask for a picture?"

"If you have time to gossip, you have time to work."

Naoto went back to her place behind the counter, how many times did she have to hear them mumbling about girls they saw in magazines? Friends had been scarce in Naoto's life, much less lovers, she had neither the time nor interest for those, so why would she be interested in a total stranger's life? A lone costumer was waiting for her.

"Welcome."

"Hi, I'd like a tall iced caramel macchiato."

"Name?

"My name?"

Naoto looks at her quizzically. "I need it for the order, miss."

"Rise..."

"It'd be ready in a minute."

After Rise takes her seat in the back of the establishment, the two gossipy coworkers from earlier appear back in the counter.

"Duuude, was that just now Risette?"

"Seriously?! What was her name, Shirogane?"

Naoto was sure she had never heard of a Risette before, though not being much into the entertainment industry might have something to do with that.

"It wasn't Rise, sorry." Naoto remembered to change the name of the order later.

"Here's your coffee, miss. Sorry about the name change, I didn't want my co-workers nagging one of our costumers."

Rise stares at the cup.

"Oh. That's... very sweet of you, thank you."

Naoto switched from the counter to the back every couple of days, but like a clock she always saw Rise whenever she worked at the front. Her order was always the same, but she started using the fake name Naoto gave her to order.

Every now and then Rise would start small talk when there was no one around. That was how their entire conversation went, until that day.

Naoto had approached Rise's table with the intent of leaving her coffee, thanking her for her patronage and leaving. Her usual routine was about to be disturbed.

"Wait. I wanted to give you something."

Making sure no one was looking, Rise discreetly hands her a piece of paper and holds Naoto's hand closed. "Hope to hear from you." She releases her hands, gets up, apparently in a rush with her order, and leaves brushing past Naoto. Did she just see a tingle of red in her ears? Must be her imagination. She opens her hand and examines the paper.

_"Call me xoxo"_

Naoto had just received an idol's phone number. No, not an idol's, not Risette's... just Rise's. She still didn't get why people went crazy over celebrities, but this Rise girl, had more to her than what met the eye. Maybe she could give this a try. Or to be exact, a call.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **In this AU, Rise isn't yet a full-fledge idol, she's more of a model. Sorry for the confusing title, I didn't expect this to have a chapter 2 so I had to change things a bit.

* * *

30 minutes. That's the time Naoto had spent non-stop walking around her room, fidgeting with her phone, typing a text just to close the messaging app. In her head, she justified it as not trying to look too eager, so she waited a day, then the day passed and here she is.

'_Hey, I didn't give you my name, I'm…'_ "No, too familiar... How _many_ opening lines has it been?" Naoto stopped her stroll around the apartment, and took a seat in the bed. It wasn't like her to be this indecisive, guess matters of the heart weren't her strong suit. "Here goes nothing." She starts typing the first thing that comes to mind, discarding her half hour of rehearsals. _'Hello. I'm Naoto from the coffee shop. You gave me your number._' Simple but effective.

She laid down again on the bed, exhausted from the mental exercise. Who would have thought texting a person—no, a woman—would be this hard? Not too long after, she hears the notification jingle. It was a reply from Rise: she thanked Naoto for contacting her, emojis accentuating her enthusiasm, and extended Naoto an invitation to take coffee someday. Coffee. Very appropriate.

_Damn, I have to reply back._ Naoto hurries back to sit on the bed, hopefully this time her reply wouldn't take that long. It took 10 minutes.

_The day of the date..._

Naoto looks up from her phone, more specifically from the text app showing the address Rise sent her. After a relatively short walk from her apartment, she's now standing in front of a two-floor café. Naoto starts to wonder just what did she get herself into. Before she could give her overactive mind time to ponder about what kind of person Rise was just from her choice of meeting places—a bad habit she picked up as a child—she breathes in, and takes a step towards the place.

Like she had said in the text, the brunette was already set up in a table in the top floor. Fumbling with her phone to distract herself, she looked either too bored or too concentrated. Naoto couldn't tell. As soon as her approaching footsteps were more obvious, the brunette's eyes instantly lite up, a smile returning to her features.

"Good morning, Rise-san."

"Morning, Naoto."

While Naoto's tone was sober, Rise cheerily greeted her, seeming without a care in the world.

"Shall we order something?" Naoto asks as soon as she settles down on her seat, she always had breakfast like a clock at the same time.

"Yeah!"

Naoto orders a simple black coffee and croissant. After taking her time to scan the menu, Rise settles on black tea and their cake selection of the day. For now, they keep the conversation just to idle chat, as they wait for their breakfasts to. Naoto couldn't get to her third question about the weather in a row, before their food arrived.

"I wasn't sure you'd come. I'm glad you didn't ditch me." Rise says smiling behind her cup of tea.

"How so?" Naoto took a sip of her coffee. It was in par, maybe above, the one they served at her work.

"Most people I've known would get intimidated by a model, saying that 'You're way over my league' crap."

Naoto puts her cup down, taking her time to think her answer as she stares at the black liquid. "To be honest, I didn't know you were a celebrity the first time I saw you." She looks up from the reflection of her cup to Rise's eyes. "To be in the spotlight you need be a hard-working person. So I think I understand where those people are coming from."

Rise just stared wide eyed at Naoto for a second. People usually got like that when Naoto answered so seriously.

"Whoa, are you some sort of detective?" A second later, Rise just seemed amused.

"I'm just good at observing people."

"That's why you work at a coffee shop?" Rise asks in a half serious, half mocking tone.

"Part of it actually. After my grandfather passed away, I gathered my things and moved to the city. Small town, everyone knows each other, it was getting suffocating."

"Hmm." Rise nods, as she traces the outline of her cup with a finger.

"Sorry for bringing down the mood like that."

"No, it's okay. The first time I brought a girlfriend home, my grandma almost fainted. She doesn't like me seeing women, but I don't bring them home anyways." Rise is smiling, but that smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. "My grandma was the one who raised me. I just can't stay mad at her forever." Naoto thought best to change subjects.

"I heard you were... a gravure model, is that the correct term?"

"Yeah, I do photoshoots for magazines, along with my normal model gig, the whole shebang."

"That sounds stressful."

"I know right! And my manager wants me to get more jobs on top of that." She sighs loudly. "Sorry for unloading on you!"

"It's fine, you can keep rambling as long as you want."

"Now, aren't you sweet, Naoto-kun?"

"B-Besides, your life sounds much more exciting than mine. I think I'd like to hear me about it next time, if you'd oblige."

"Then it's a date. I'll try thinking of something juicy stories to tell you next time."

_Date._ It just hit Naoto they were on an actual date, right now, in front of people that probably thought they were just two friends catching up, not a semi-closeted model, and someone that didn't really hide nor flaunt her preference for the same gender.

"Naoto, are you okay? You're making a weird face?"

"I-It's nothing."

Naoto takes a quick sip of her coffee, trying to get her expression to get back to normal.

"Do you come here often, Rise-san?"

"Once or twice with some friends, but not really. Why? Trying to get in my head, miss detective?" Rise teases.

Naoto lets out a small laugh. "Not at all."

"They don't have such cute clerks like in the café I usually go to." Rise remarks with a smirk.

"You don't say? I heard their top employee is quite the authoritarian." Naoto wasn't gonna let herself lose to this.

"I do like me people that take the reins." Rise winks back at her, and Naoto can't help but avert her gaze. Rise 1, Naoto 0.

After a long while—shared with some extra slices of cake—the two said their goodbyes. Upon arriving to her apartment, Naoto doesn't go through the usual ritual of changing into her comfiest pajamas and serving herself a cup of store-bought coffee, instead she goes straight to her bedroom. This time she doesn't hesitate before hitting the Send button. A few minutes later, the monotone ringtone of a phone feels like heaven to the barista. She quickly scans her eyes through the screen.

"_Yeah, the date was so much fun, thank you, Naoto-kun! I can call you that, right?"_

_Date_. That word again, and now Naoto feels that weird heating sensation in her face again. Yeah, it was gonna take her some time getting used to dating.

* * *

**A/N:** I proofread this at 1am, sorry if there's any mistakes. lol For now, I'm leaving this as "Completed", but I'd like to write more with these two in the future.


End file.
